Karen's Choice - Books

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Monday, 2 May 2016

Title: Forestium (Portallas #1) Author: Christopher D.MorganPages: 298Published: March 3rd 2016Synopsis: Joshua’s life is on the line, as he attempts to navigate through the magical world of Forestium to find the truth about his father. He and his companions will need to use all their cunning to stay alive and avoid the dark forces of the Goat. Will he find the magical orbs and open the Portallas, a magical gateway to other worlds, before he’s killed?Joshua sets out to learn the truth about his father. Along the way, he finds friends, enemies, adventure, romance and himself.

Review:

First of all, I like to give a hand to the artist for the artful drawings in this book. It was amazing. I was looking forward to finish a chapter, as that meant a new drawing.

The author’s writing style is pretty good. I like it when he gives his characters different accents, it made it easier to picture them and it was a bit funny too. It gave the book a bit of humor. His characters are well developed. My favorite has to be Sarah, even though she did annoy me a bit, which I suspect was a part of author’s intention. I did have my negative thoughts about our main character, but that's mostly because I never tend to like any main characters.

It's a cute and funny story, it's an easy read (even though I used some time on it, I blame my studies). It has a lot of romance and action, something I personally appreciate. The romance is a bit awkward but very cute, just how romance should be, at least that's my opinion. Love should be awkward! The worlds he creates are interesting and entertaining. I would love to read more and keep exploring this worlds with the characters, but I have to admit that I'm glad I'm only exploring that worlds through their eyes, since I think I would have been pretty scared if I was there. Ha ha, I'm brave at heart, I promise.

I do recommend this book to people aged 12-17. But I'm 20 and still enjoyed reading it, so if you like fantasy, romance and a bit of action, I recommend you giving it a try. Chances are you will like it. Cheers.

Sunday, 17 April 2016

Title: Minecraft: 50 unofficial Minecraft books in 1Author: Billy MinerPages: 627Summary: Where do I start? I cannot even begin to summarize all these Minecraft stories. You, the lucky reader, get to experience a big number of Minecraft diaries, adventures, mysteries, and action-packed battles by putting yourself in the shoes of the main characters in these 50 humorous, intense, mythical, romantic, adventurous, heroic, and epic Minecraft stories. Read about Minecraft creepers, endermen, knights, skeleton armies, witches, princesses, enderdragons, silver swords, enderpearls, spiders, ninjas, ghasts, iron golems, and much more! All of these stories are separately available as audiobooks. Some stories will make you laugh, while others will make you turn the pages as fast as you can. When you’re done reading, you can look in the back, where you’ll find a bonus: 25 Minecraft sketches by the author, designer, and illustrator of these books, Billy Miner. Enjoy!

Review: This book would be awesome as an RPG to be honest. Seriously, I would play it. Don't even have to be a Minecraft inspired RPG.Anyway, as a book, it's kinda a mix between RPG, fairytale and a little bit of epic poetry. Why you may ask, well let me explain for you.

(I have chosen to pick one of the stories to review, the first one. It would be too much if I review all of them and I don't want to spoil the whole book.)

The book has elements from a fairytale such as, saving a princess, a normal boy that suddenly become royal, an exciting and dangerous adventure. The way he writes reminds me of an RPG, since he is pretty quick, everything happens fast and unexpected. A bit too fast for me to be honest. It also reminds me of epic poetry, because everything happens so fast, and the way our main character gets to know other characters. As example: In Odyssey, his son meets a group of men, who invites him and his crew in for dinner. They have a huge party, but this group of men don't ask him for his name before he is about to leave the party. Getting to know each other isn't a big deal in epic poetry nor in this book.I miss the lack of details and descriptions, everything is moving a bit too fast and you don't really get to know the characters. But on the other hand, the book is full of action. Which might be enough for some, but I personally likes a bit more details and explains. I enjoy getting to know the characters and understand how and why they react like they do. This book kinda lacks that. But don't get me wrong, the action is explained pretty good which is exciting. Maybe I have just read too much from Virginia Woolf.This book is inspired by Minecraft, and personally I haven't played much minecraft, so I was a bit afraid that I would be confused. But to be honest, I wasn't confused at all, which is very good. Maybe someone who is a bit more into the game than I am, will find Minecraft inspired elements, but I didn't. For me, it appeared to be just a normal young adult book.You know what? This book has pictures! I'm always very fascinated by book with pictures in them. I love how the pictures kinda helps the author and the story to float nicely and smooth. The pictures were of course Minecraft inspired pictures (these were the only times I got remained that I actually read a Minecraft fanfiction.) The pictures were nice and enjoyable, it was kinda relaxing to just rest your eyes on them for a bit before continuing reading.I do think this book is more suitable for the youngest group with in YA, those between 12-15 years old. But I enjoyed it, it was a quick and easy read. His writing style is good and easy to understand, which is what I enjoy the most these days.

Wednesday, 16 March 2016

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.Title: Marissa MeyerAuthor: HeartlessPublishing: November 8th 2016Why can't this book be out already? I'm obsessed with books inspired by Alice in Wonderland, also, did you read the plot? I wanna know why Queen of Hearts ended up being so cruel and mean.PlotLong before she was the terror of Wonderland — the infamous Queen of Hearts — she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the yet-unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend and supply the Kingdom of Hearts with delectable pastries and confections. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next Queen.

At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the king's marriage proposal, she meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the King and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship.

Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

Plot:
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her would's future.

Review:

Cinder is based on the story Cinderella, which was why I
bought this book to begin with. I'm a fan of books based on old stories, such
as "Alice in Zombieland" or "The Grimm Chronicles".

The book has a great beginning; we get to know our main
character and her background story. Our main character Cinder, she is a
mechanic and doesn't mind getting her hands a bit dirty. She is also a cyborg,
hated by everyone around her. Cyborgs don’t have high social statues, they are
slaves, and people treat them like they are garbage. Cinder doesn't seem to
bother about what people think about her as long as she can do what she likes,
and spend time with her two friends and doesn't get bothered by her stepmother.
Her friends are the android Iko and her stepsister Peony, which later become
sick.

Cinder's stepmother and other stepsister are the ones who
are cruel to her. Her stepmother makes her do everything, and after her
stepfather's death, she had been the one to work and make money. Money her
stepmother spends on clothes to herself and her two daughters. Cinder's dead
stepfather, was the one who found her and took care of her. If it hadn't been
for him, Cinder would probably have been dead. Meyer makes sure we don't have
any sympathy with Cinder's stepmother and stepsister. She describes them as
cruel and horrible people, through how they act and behave.

Meyer explains everything understandable. She makes it easy
for us to imagine her universe. The time and setting are placed in the 126th
year of the Third Era. Meyer does let us know about the other Eras as well. The
settings are places on both earth and the moon, Luna. Luna is controlled my
queen Levana, a power-hungry lady. She is willing to sacrifice everything to
get more power. Levana is the big bad wolf, she is even worse than Cinder's
stepmother. Levana is obsessed with beauty and wants to be the prettiest person
in the whole galaxy. The Lunar people have a special mind controlling power,
they can take control over everyone's heads. Though, some of them are weaker
and don't have the strength to control others, also there is people born
without this power and immune to other's powers, also called shells. Levana
have ordered shells to be killed right away, as they are a threat to her thrown
and power.

The book Cinder is filled with action and mysteries. We get
to meet prince Kai, who Cinder falls in love with. We know he might have to
marry the evil queen to make peace with her, but we also know that he is
looking for the lost princess of Lunar, the only one who can take down queen
Levana. We don't know if she is dead or alive, but some evidence leads us to
our theory that she might still be alive, hiding on planet earth.

This is a book you can enjoy on a vacation or if you want
to sit down and read something easy and enjoyable. The romance is a bit cliché,
at least that's my opinion, I think it's a bit awkward and forced. I know that
Cinderella marries the Prince and they fall in love with each other the first
night, but it seems a bit out of place in this book. Unfortunately, this
doesn't get better with the next books, in fact, it gets worse with more
clichés. They are focusing more on their love life than on actually saving the
world.

But, it's not a bad book. I have read all of them and I'm
sad that the series has ended. I do recommend it to people who enjoy
young-adult science-fiction books, with a lot of romance in them.

The characters you get to meet are well devolved and they
are unique and lovable. My favorite character is Cress, since she is way too
cute and clumsy. Unfortunately you don't get to meet her before the third book.

Tuesday, 21 October 2014

Title: Go Ask AliceAuthor: AnonymousPublished: January 1st 2006 (First published in 1971)Publisher: Simon PulsePages: 213Summary:January 24thAfter you've had it, there isn't even a life without drugs....

It started when she was served a soft drink laced with LSD in a dangerous party game. Within months, she was hooked, trapped in a downward spiral that took her from her comfortable home and loving family to the mean streets of an unforgiving city. It was a journey that would rob her of her innocence, her youth-- and ultimately her life.

Read her diary Enter her world. You will never forget her.

For thirty-five years, the acclaimed, bestselling first-person account of a teenage girl's harrowing decent into the nightmarish world of drugs has left an indelible mark on generations of teen readers. As powerful-- and as timely -- today as ever, Go Ask Alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction.

Review:

You seriously have to read this book!

I know you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, and I didn't! I judged it by it's title... Anyway, I picked this book up when I was in the USA, since it seemed interesting and I have a thing for Alice in Wonderland. And no, this book is not another Alice in Wonderland inspired book, it's only the title that it inspired by that book.

This book was written for 25 years ago! So I was a little skeptic about it, but when I first started to read it, I couldn't stop and finished it in two hours (it's not a thick book)! It was so good and very sad, I had to fight back some tears while reading.

The publishers said that it used to be a girl's diary, though later is has been some speculations about a possible author. I don't think this book is a real diary, but that doesn't make the book any less interesting or realistic.

So, a guy asked me if I think this book is more relevant today then it was back in 1971, and I said yes, it's definitive more relevant today, since more and more teenagers are experimenting with drugs. It's becoming a bigger problem and many teenagers (and grown ups) dies of overdosing. I will never ever try drugs after reading this book! I do not want to end up like that poor girl.

The plot is amazing, the book is easy to read and it's always happening something, never a dull moment. So please give it a try, I strongly recommend it.

Because of the one ugly rumor, Chira lives as an outcast at he school. Which is fine with her, because she works better alone. Always has, always will. And at least she has her one and only true friend, Tasha. When Tasha insist that they join a group to visit a possible haunted abandoned old schoolhouse, she's wary, but joins her friend. Because of that decision, their lives are in jeopardy as malevolent spirit targets the group. Tragedies and accidents pick them off one by one, and Chira finds herself drawn to the one person who can see the truth. But can he protect her?

Review:

I honestly loved the cover, it's so cute!

First Impression was a good book, that I enjoyed reading. It's very down to earth, even though paranormal is one of the genres. The main character Chira is funny and smart, even though she also suffers from the disease "love at first sight".
The book is unique in it's own way, I loved the ghost idea and how lovable all of the characters where. Seriously, I don't think there were many characters I didn't like. Tasha has to be my favorite character though, since I love her spontaneous and carefree personality. Honestly, I wish she was my friend!

Creeden's writing style is funny and good, easy to understand and this is coming from someone with English as a secondary language.

The plot was really fun and even though I think it had a slow start, then it suddenly really got exciting and it was almost impossible to lay down. So I would say the book was a fast read!.

I really recommend this book to everyone that likes romance, a little fantasy and action. I also recommend it to those who aren't used to reading English yet, this book was very easy and a nice start for those who want to read more English and get better.

Thursday, 10 April 2014

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at breaking the spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Title: The Son

Author: Jo Nesbø

Publishing: 5/13/2014

I know, I know... It's not Wednesday, but Thursday. But I was so busy yesterday that I didn't have the time to publish anything.

I absolutely love Nesbø, he is a great author and his books are always full of action.

Summary:

Sonny Lofthus, in his early thirties, has been in prison for the last dozen years: serving time for crimes he didn't commit. In exchange, he gets an uninterrupted supply of heroin- and the unexpected stream of fellow prisoners seeking out his uncanny abilities to soothe and absolve. His addiction started when his father committed suicide rather then be exposed as a corrupt cop, and now Sonny is the center of vortex of

corruption: prison staff, police, lawyers, a desperate priest - all of them focused on keeping him stoned and jailed, and all of them under the thumb of Oslo's crime overlord, the Twin.

When Sonny learns some long-hidden truths about his father he makes a brilliant escape, and begins hunting down the people responsible for the hideous crimes he's paid for. But he's also being hunted by the twin, the cops, and the only person who know the ultimate truth that Sonny is seeking. The question is, what will he do when they've cornered him?

I just love this series! Cant't wait to read this book and the summary is fantastic. Summary:

I have a plan.

We'll either destroy them for good, or they'll desultory us.

Either way, only one of us is walking away.

In the stunning conclusion to the wildly popular White Rabbit Chronicles, Alice 'Ali' Bell think the worst is behind her. She's ready to take the next step with boyfriend Col Holland, the leader of the Zombie slayers; until Anima Industries the agency controlling the zombies, launches a sneak attack, killing four of her friends. It's then she realizes that humans can be more dangerous then monsters; and the worst has only begun.

As the surviving slayers prepare for war, Ali discover she, too, can control the zombies and she isn't the girl she thought she was. She's connected to the woman responsible for killing and turning Cole's mother. How can their relationship endure? As secrets come to light, and more slayers are taken of killed, Ali will fight harder then ever to bring down Anima even sacrificing her own life for those she loves.